今天给同学们上口译课，翻译到中文“繁星满天的夜晚”时，看着书中的标准答案an evening with numerous shining stars in the sky，心中一动，想到一首大家耳熟能详的《Starry Starry Night》，Starry Night不正是那繁星满天的夜晚吗？与学术的标准答案相比，Starry Night这个翻译不仅符合了口译中“化繁为简”的原则，更是多了几分灵气。

尽管McLean还有很多其他的力作，但是仅凭这首单曲，就足够让这位民谣史上的吟游诗人永留史册。我很郑重地推荐感兴趣的朋友去找找他的歌，他一定不会让大家失望。

我们再看看梵高，现在的普罗大众都记得他的《向日葵》，具有讽刺意味的是大多数人不是记得他的画是如何的好，而是如何的贵，但是梵高生前却一直在和贫困疾病作斗争。他不仅贫困交加，还有精神病，两次发作中，一次割下了自己的耳朵，一次收割了自己的生命。也许这就是上帝的公平，天才总在某些方面是弱智，很多时候上帝给了你天才，很少会同时给你完美的生活，贫困疯狂中死去的梵高永远不会知道他的《加歇医生画像》会卖到8250万美元，因为他活着的时候作品几乎无人问津。大家看看天才的画作，惊叹之余，想想自己，我们还是享受自己作为普通人的乐趣吧。

附《Vincent》的歌词：

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen; they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen; they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you
But still, your love was true
And when no hope was left inside

On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could've told you, Vincent
This world was never meant For one as beautiful as you

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn, a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

posted on 2008-08-08 11:39 唐天 阅读(2957) 评论(10)  编辑  收藏 网摘收藏